Episode 352
Episode 352
Yumidihus clicked his tongue at his disciple's trashy remark.
Of course, Alsicle didn't hear it. Alsicle had the ability to ignore insults directed at him.
'What an ugly sound.'
Of course, magic wasn't solely about Circles.
Circles were the most convenient unit of measurement, not the most precise.
But to bring up Circles first, get pushed back, and then change his argument—such shamelessness was truly...
'No wonder he still hasn't come to his senses.'
Anyone else would have faltered from embarrassment, but Alsicle remained as solid as an iceberg.
He immediately shifted the topic and fired off a question.
"What matters more than Circles is the breadth of your magic. By your age, I had mastered not only Frost Element Magic but also Transformation Magic and Summoning Magic. Understand?"
"You should stop now, Alsicle."
Yumidihus spoke up for his disciple.
He did want to jolt Alsicle back to reality, but not so harshly that it would break him.
What if Alsicle, overwhelmed by shame, threw himself off that glacial cliff?
But Alsicle misunderstood Yumidihus' words.
"No, Lord Yumidihus. This needs to be addressed. Otherwise, the young mages of the Empire might suffer emotional wounds."
"......"
It wasn't an act—he genuinely believed that, which made it all the more astonishing.
'He wouldn't be that emotionally fragile.'
If you entered Einrogard, you'd face far worse than this.
"I'm saying this because the Wardanaz kid here has studied a broader range of magic than you, Alsicle."
"...Don't lie to me!"
True to his penguin beastkin nature, Alsicle flapped his short arms and shouted.
But when Yumidihus glared at him, he immediately straightened his posture and rephrased his words.
"D-don't lie to me, please."
The memory of being struck was still fresh in his body.
"How could he have studied more magic than me? That's impossible. What has he learned?"
"Let's see. Black Magic, Summoning Magic, Illusion Magic, Enchantment Magic, Divination Magic, Transformation Magic, Healing Magic..."
"And which of those has he actually mastered?"
Alsicle asked in a slightly snappish tone.
"I'm telling you what he's currently learning."
"...What?"
Alsicle stood frozen in shock for several minutes.
Unable to watch any longer, Lee Han whispered,
"Can we just leave him like that?"
Professor Voladi silently nodded and replied,
"Penguin beastkin are resistant to the cold."
"No... That's not what I meant."
He wasn't asking if Alsicle would freeze to death—he was asking if he was mentally okay.
Fortunately, Yumidihus stepped in to sort things out.
"Alsicle!"
"......"
"Do you want another beating?!"
"No! No!"
The dazed penguin beastkin mage's expression finally regained focus.
"Who was more talented as a child—what does that matter? What's important is what magic you're practicing now. This Wardanaz kid came here to learn Frost Element Magic from you. So stop the nonsense and teach him properly."
"But who was more talented as a child is an extremely important matter..."
"......"
Even as Yumidihus tried to move past this pleasantly, Alsicle stubbornly clung to the issue, forcing him to suppress a simmering rage.
Professor Voladi spoke up.
"I'll give you the answer."
"What is it?"
"This Wardanaz is more talented. Now, are we done?"
"......"
"......"
Watching Voladi pour oil onto the already blazing fire, Yumidihus thought to himself,
'I should've left Voladi Bagrak behind.'
"H-he's more talented than me? Voladi Bagrak, are you serious? Seriously!? Have you lost your mind from overwork at Einrogard!?"
Lee Han was slightly surprised by the penguin beastkin's unexpected stab at the truth.
"How did you know?"
"Both Circle and range are better with Wardanaz."
"Ugh... application! Advanced elemental applications must be different!"
After a long deliberation, Alsicle shouted.
Since he couldn't win in terms of range or Circle, he decided to compete based on mastery of magical applications.
"I mastered water elemental form transformation at that age! Voladi Bagrak!"
"...Can't I just say I lost?"
Lee Han whispered, tired of this fight, but Professor Voladi ignored him and replied.
"Wardanaz has mastered form transformation."
"He's currently learning rotation and evaporation properties."
"......"
Under the brutal truth attacks from the two mages, Alsicle clutched his head in disbelief.
Then, with a wail, he tried to dash toward the cliff.
"Impossible! A genius surpassing me... It can't be!"
"Not again!"
Yumidihus summoned a water whip, tripped Alsicle by the ankles, and bound him.
Once the situation was under control, Yumidihus apologized to Lee Han.
"Sorry. Alsicle can be a bit emotional."
'It's fine.'
"More than just 'a bit,' I think."
His inner thoughts accidentally slipped out the opposite way. Yumidihus sighed in understanding.
Inside Alsicle's Magic Tower, a chilling cold filled the air.
The barren emptiness—devoid of any notable furniture or equipment—made it feel even colder.
Lee Han found it odd, quite different from the workshops he'd seen at Einrogard.
"Does practicing cold magic require fewer belongings?"
"No. He likely sold everything to fund his research after hitting a dead end. It's common among mages who build their own towers."
It wasn't for nothing that mages who erected towers in pursuit of magic's limits often lost their minds and tried to dominate their surroundings.
Magical research was that grueling and arduous.
If research concluded quickly, it was a relief. But if it dragged on, costs piled up, sanity eroded, and life grew harder...
And if fellow mages sent letters asking, <How's the research going?>—it only made the suffering worse.
Eventually, thoughts like, 'Why not just take over nearby villages? If I do it well, no one will notice. Once I conquer them, I can just finish my magic...' would start creeping in.
"Ugh... sob... sob..."
Alsicle wept pitifully, tears like chicken droppings streaming down his face.
Bound by Yumidihus's magic and sitting inside his tower, he looked like a mage subdued by bandits.
"To think there was a mage more talented than me... I'm nothing."
"Alsicle. I told you. Early achievements aren't—"
"Lady Yumidihus, who climbed through effort without talent, wouldn't understand my heart!"
"......"
"......"
Yumidihus briefly gestured for Lee Han to step outside. He nodded and turned to leave.
"Professor, come out."
"Why?"
"...Just step out for a bit."
Lee Han grabbed Voladi's wrist instead of his collar and pulled him out.
Then, dull thuds echoed from inside.
—I was wrong! I was wrong, Lady Yumidihus!
"You can come back in now."
"Yes."
Lee Han walked back in and stood as if nothing had happened.
"Sob... hic... sob..."
"Now that you've taken enough hits, pull yourself together and teach ice elemental magic."
"Waaah! Hic! Hic!"
Normally, Alsicle would have complied, but today, perhaps the shock was too great—he just kept wailing, ignoring Yumidihus entirely.
Seeing this, Yumidihus felt a pang of regret. Maybe the blow had been too harsh.
Alsicle had always taken immense pride in his talent.
With his research stalled recently, his stress must have been immense—and now, even that last shred of pride had been shattered. For someone like Alsicle, the shock must have been multiplied.
"This won't do. Let's step out again."
"...Uh, are you going to beat him again?"
Lee Han was slightly flustered.
Though Lee Han didn't know Pengerin well, he could tell that beating him wouldn't solve the current problem.
"It's not beating. I prefer the expression 'magical instruction.'"
"...Whatever you call it, I think we should try persuasion through dialogue first."
"Wardanaz."
Yumidihus looked at Lee Han with pity in his eyes.
"There are times when you encounter someone dialogue simply won't work on."
As he spoke, Yumidihus glanced very subtly at Voladi.
Lee Han also glanced very subtly at Voladi.
"Still, could you give me just one chance to try persuading him?"
"Well... you have been learning under Voladi Bagrak too."
"...I don't think that's relevant here..."
Lee Han felt slightly bothered that Yumidihus seemed to regard him as some kind of 'expert in handling disciples.'
"Professor Pengerin."
Pengerin continued sobbing without responding.
"Whether you learned 3rd-Circle magic in your first year or 4th-Circle magic—what does that matter? Even Archmage Gonadaltes says what's important isn't the Circle of magic but—"
"You can say that because you're more talented than me! Right? You're looking down on me, aren't you?!"
"......"
Lee Han was shocked by how severely affected Pengerin seemed.
But Lee Han had dealt with people far crazier than Pengerin before.
He absolutely wouldn't be shaken by such provocation.
"Professor Pengerin. I'm so sad."
Suddenly covering his face with his hands, Lee Han reddened his eyes.
If the opponent came with tears, he'd respond in kind.
"Do you know why Professor Yumidihus brought me here? Because I begged him repeatedly, saying how much I wanted to learn from you."
"????"
"?"
Though Yumidihus and Voladi stared at him as if questioning what nonsense he was spouting, Lee Han pressed on with a straight face.
"I've heard countless times about your incredible achievements. Do you know how I learned 4th-Circle magic? It was by striving, even slightly, to follow in your footsteps."
"W-wait, that magic too?"
"Yes."
Pengerin, perking up with interest as his energy returned, suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
"...But isn't that too much?"
"......"
Lee Han hesitated whether to slap Pengerin's plump cheek but restrained himself.
"I thought that was the least I could do to reach your level."
"Still, it seems like you learned too much."
"...Regardless, that's how much I admired you. And yet you dislike teaching me so much that you'd resort to such tricks."
"Tricks?"
Pengerin looked utterly baffled.
"If it's not a trick, why else would you show me this side of yourself? You must dislike me to act this way."
"...You saw through me!"
Completely reinvigorated, Pengerin blurted out without thinking.
Yumidihus had to suppress the urge to slap his shameless disciple's face.
"Truly impressive. You saw through my act."
"No matter how well Professor Pengerin acts, it's not easy for a genius to play the fool convincingly."
"Fine. Since I've been caught, there's no helping it. Wait right there! I'll teach you some Frost Element Magic."
As Pengerin steadied himself and wobbled inside, Yumidihus quietly said to Lee Han:
"Now I see why you can be Voladi Bagrak's disciple."
"...Did I make some mistake?"
Pengerin spread reagents across the floor and made Lee Han stand on them.
Yumidihus, who had been watching absentmindedly, was startled when he saw the reagents laid out.
Each one was exorbitantly expensive.
They looked like reagents prepared for research...?
"Is this really okay?"
"Hm?"
When Voladi questioned him, Yumidihus pointed out the cost of the reagents.
"Pengerin needs to conduct research too. If he uses up all those reagents..."
"It's fine."
"Ah. Did you check the inventory? Are we allowed to use those—"
Professor Voladi shook his head and replied:
"It's Alcircle Pengerin's business."
"...Wait! Hold on!"
Regretting that he'd even momentarily considered Voladi Bagrak's words, Yumidihus stepped forward to stop Pengerin.